Can opener



June 7, 1955 C. CABLE ET AL CAN OPENER Filed July 19, 1954 IN V EN TOR.

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United States Patent O CAN OPENER Clyde Cable and Greatllia L. Lair, San Francisco, Calif.

Appiication .l'uly 19, 1954, Serial No. 444,032

1 Claim. (Cl. 22h- 52) This invention relates to improvements in can openers and has particular reference to a can opener for a type of can having a ribbon band which is pulled from the side of the can so that the contents thereof may be exposed for use.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a can opener which will coil the ribbon while it is being stripped from the can, will retain the convolutions one upon the other, and will thereafter discharge the ribbon from the opener in a simple and etlicient manner.

A further object is to produce a device of this character which is economical to manufacture, and which can be used for prying up the beginning end of the ribbon from the can.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numbers are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. l is a side elevation of our can opener;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Coffee cans, sardine cans, ham cans, and the like, are very often provided with a scored strip or ribbon, which, when it is desired to open the can, is pulled outwardly away from the can, with the result that the scoring tears, and the ribbon separates the top from the bottom of the can.

Heretofore it has been common to use a slotted key, which is first engaged with one end of the ribbon and then by turning the key, the ribbon will wind thereon, one convolution upon the other. Due to the fact that in many instances this ribbon may either twist or be greasy, the convolutions, after they have built up several layers, will tend to slide off of the under layers and considerable diiculty is then experienced in completing the opening of the can.

Applicants have therefore devised an arrangement wherein the convolutions are held one upon the other through the entire tearing operation. Also, applicants have provided means whereby the convolutions are tightly held so that there is no back lash. Also, after the entire ribbon has been wound upon the opener, by pulling the key portion outwardly from the body and against a spring action, the torn strip Will be forcibly ejected from the can opener and the parts will automatically return to normal operating position.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of our invention, the numeral 5 designates a rectangular frame 2,710,111 Patented June 7, 1955 to which is horizontally secured a second rectangular frame 6 forming a T-shaped body. Mounted in the frame 5 is a spring 7, one end of which bears against an annular ring 8 formed upon the key 9 and has its opposite ends bearing against the top of the frame 5.

The key 9 has a cross bar handle 11 and a slit bottom portion 12, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. One end of the frame 6 has a sharpened edge 13, the purpose of which will be later seen.

Secured to the opposite end of the frame 6 through the medium of a rivet 14, is a spring 16 extending outwardly to a point substantially in alignment with the slit end 12 of the key 9.

The result of this construction is that when it is desired to open a can having a ribbon seal, then the sharpened edge of the frame 6 is employed to lift the free end of the ribbon on the can outwardly therefrom. The device is then positioned over the ribbon so that the free end extends through the slot formed in the slotted end 12, after which the handle 11 is rotated with the result that the ribbon will be torn from the can and the succceeding convolutions will be wound upon the end of the key and will bear against the free end of the spring 16. This free end of the spring 16 will prevent retrograde movement of the ribbon.

After the ribbon has been entirely removed from the can, it is merely necessary for the operator to pull upon the handle in a direction away from the frame 6, thus compressing the spring 7 and withdrawing the tapered split end 12 from the coiled ribbon.

The spring 16 will now snap the free ribbon out of the frame 6 and the device will again be ready for use.

It is to be understood that the form of our invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes relative to the material, size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spring of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

A can opener comprising two rectangular frames secured one to the other at right angles and forming a T- shaped body, the sides of said frames all being in the same plane, a tear strip key slidably carried by the one of said frames which forms the leg of the T-shaped body with the longitudinal axis of the key lying medially and longitudinally of said leg forming frame, said key stem having a split end, entering and extending across the other of said frames and an annular ring xed to and surrounding said stem within said leg forming frame, said ring engaging the outside of the other of the said rectangular frames when the split end of the key stem extends across said other frame, a coil spring surrounding said key stem between the outermost end of the leg forming frame and the said annular ring to maintain said key in normal winding position, and a flat spring carried by one end of said other frame, the free end of said last mentioned spring being spaced from the split end of said key and in parallel alignment therewith, whereby a ribbon wound on said key will bear against the end of said last mentioned spring to prevent retrograde movement thereon.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,265,456 Koch May 7, 1918 2,649,990 Lyle Aug. 25, 1953 2,693,897 Johnson et al Nov. 9, 1954 

